Forest of Despair
by Beauty-half-betrayed
Summary: Something threatens the Shadow Isles: a ghost of a dark wizard named Nebulor haunts the forest of Erguar. Mordekaiser, Hecarim, Diana, Jarvan and Fiora try to stop his devilish plans.
1. Something threatens the Isles

In the land of Valoran, a land of wonders, magic and war, where the League of Legends overlooks all the city-states and all tribes, our story begins to unravel...

After a victorious battle in the arena of the Howling Abyss, the blue team which members were: Diana, Fiora, Hecarim, Mordekaiser and Jarvan the IV, spend some time in the post fight room for healing and exchanging their opinions for the battle that took place.

We fought well together, soldiers, apparently we make a good team... Said Hecarim, trying to sound friendly, though it was difficult with that monstrous voice of his.

So it would seem... Answered Diana, who was paying attention more on cleaning her weapon, than to the ghostly centaur.

Come on old general, get to the main course! Mordekaiser nodded to Hecarim.

I take it there is something you want to tell us, warriors of the Shadow Isles? Asked Jarvan the moment he and Fiora were going to leave. Mordekaiser chuckled:

Take a seat Ladies and Prince...As he gestured, Jarvan and Fiora sat on the one of the two long benches that were in the room, and Diana turned her her head to show her interest. Mordekaiser sat down. He looked them all with a serious glare, and coughed a little before he started:

Something threatens the Isles... Cenuries ago, there was a great wizard of dark magic who lived in a castle in the forest of Erguar, was killed by his enemies, the defenders of the light. In the moment of his death, the wizard, Nebulor was his name, casted a curse that one day his ghost would conquer the whole island.

Ohhhhh...Is theye anything in these Isles not cuysed oye haunted? Wondered Fiora, speaking always with her distinctive french accent.

Hardly...Replied Hecarim struggling to think of something from the Isles that didn't look like it came out from a Tim Burton movie.

The point is.. Mordekaiser continued... That all this time his spirit was gathering its power until the right moment, and now with the defenders far gone, Nebulor's dark power, haunted the forest, everyone who entered it until now is missing and he's probably dead. His powers will grow until all of the Isles will be lost within his dark terror.

So, the good ghosts are after the bad one... Said Diana looking unimpressed.

Hardly, good... Replied Jarvan...Mr. Horseman here made a massacre in Demacia before he entered the League...he gave an angry stare at Hecarim whose skull looking face and devilish smile gave away he didn't regret his actions at all. Jarvan was squishing his lance with his hand and was ready to start a fight, when Fiora asked:

Speaking of ze League, did you infoym the Institute of Waye about youye situation?

They will only make things worse...Mordekaiser replied in disgust...They will bring all their forces to the Isles and all they' re going to do is make the spirit angrier. To defeat him, we have to deceive him. Go to the Forest, the five of us, sneek into the castle, find his grave, where his soul and the curse are bound, and destroy it! Mordekaiser's last words echoed through the room and an awkward silence followed, as Diana, Fiora and Jarvan froze in the anouncement of the plan. Then Jarvan frowned and said in a cold tone:

Let the Isles burn... They are a land of monsters anyway... he focused his last words on Hecarim, and headed for the door... Fiora, are you coming?

What makes you think that Nebulor will stop in the Isles? Hecarim's words hit Jarvan like a knife in the back, he stood still and turned his head to the right while his body was still facing the door.

Is that posibble? He asked as his face darkened...

Nebulor was greedy as far as we know... Always aiming for more... Mordekaiser said, waving his hands in a casual way...

We can't take such a big yisk... Fiora said looking at Jarvan while still sitting on the bench. They were staring at each other quite sceptical for a few seconds and then the prince said:

When do we start?

As soon as possible... Mordekaiser replied... There is no time to waste.

What about you, scorn of the moon? Hecarim turned to Diana.

A team is like a chain, if a ring of it is broken then it is not useful anymore.

I take that as a yes... Hecarim answered and grinned.

But call me scorn again and I will tear your light blue glowing guts apart!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Hecarim laughed loudly at her threat.

It's settled then... Mordekaiser ended the conversation and all together left the room and went for the portal that leads to the Shadow Isles.


	2. The quest begins

The five companions walked across a long hall with red carpet and white walls to reach the area of the portals within the Institute. As soon as they found the right door, they entered the room and without talking to the faceless figures in purple who were guarding this large room, went to the magical portal that was leading to the Shadow Isles. There were also portals for Demacia, Noxus, Piltover, Zaun, the Ionian Islands, Bilgewater and other places of Valoran, all standing there, black holes in reality with golden light surounding them. All of them, with Hecarim and Mordekaiser first, stepped into the portal, disappeared from this room and left two guards looking at each other in ignorance. "What are two Demacians and a Lunari going to do in the Shadow Isles?" Meanwhile the fellowship was experiencing the dark atmosphere of the most cursed land in the whole world.

Ahhhhh... Home sweet home... Said Mordekaiser while taking a deep breath of the heavy, dirty air of the Isles...

It won't be for any longer if we won't stop Nebulor... Hecarim replied and started to speed up his pace.

Tell me something, Hecarim... Jarvan shouted a bit because the centaur was already in a distance. Hecarim stopped and turned around to face him. He noticed that Jarvan's armor all shiny and glowing made a complete disharmony with the dark evironment, full of dust, naked black trees, and a sky which seemed that sun had forgot its existence. He grinned at the picture and bowed in order to tease him:

What is it your majesty? Jarvan frowned, but got to the point:

You always said that one day the shadows will oblitarate us all. Why now this change of heart?

With "shadows" I meant the people of the Isles, all the ghosts and cursed souls that live here, not just a megalomaniac like Nebulor. Any other questions?

Yes, are we far from the forest? Asked Diana looking inpantient and quite bored.

Five minutes, more or less, Lady... Replied Hecarim still with a devilish smile on his face.

Make that ten, not all of us are race-horses here, general...Mordekaiser joked and walked towards Hecarim.

I don't like this... Jarvan whispered to Fiora, once the two natives were ahead... Keep your eyes open...

Don't woyyey J4ye, I always do... She answered. The team walked for, like, ten minutes until they got deeper into the forest where all of them felt something strange in the air.

Dark magic, the whole place stinks of it... Said Diana in disgust while holding up her weapon.

Is it a good day to die your royalty? Hahahahaha! Hecarim's voice echoed throughout the trees.

Not just yet, headfull horseman... Jarvan anwered while looking around with his lance ready for any possible threats.

I sense them coming... The master of metal announced eager for battle. The five warriors were close to each other carefully looking between the trees, while they were hearing strange unworldly screams coming closer and closer... And then, a group of spectres appeared surrounding the champions. They looked a lot like Nocturne, but without the red blades and white eyes and they were just screaming. Jarvan performed a dragon strike to slay three of them but, his lance pierced through air as they turned into a black mist for a second, and came back to their previous form after evading the prince's blow.

Weapons can't hayem them! Fiora realised.

But magic can! Replied Diana, when she destroyed two spectres with her crescent strike, crashing their dark fragments of existence with magic moonlight.

HUAAAAAAAAAAAA! Mordekaiser casted a siphon of destruction and killed the spectres that Jarvan targeted first. Then he looked at Jarvan and said sarcasticly:

Don't worry helpless prince, I will protect you... Then J4 magicly formed a replica of his lance and threw it in the air. Mordekaiser looked clueless on why the prince did this move, when a painful scream he heard right behind him, made him turn around and see a spectre being slain by the demacian standard Jarvan just casted.

And I will protect you, helpless Nazgul... J4 replied annoyed.

HUEHUEHUE! The master of metal replied and smashed three more spectres with his mace of spades. Meanwhile Hecarim was drawing health from four -soon to be dead-spectres with his spirit of dread, and Fiora was countering two others with her unique skill of riposite turning them to dust.

Well, that was easy... Said Hecarim after reassuring that all the spectres were gone.

It will get worse, I feel it... Mordekaiser warned the team.

Let's keep moving, we have to end this...Jarvan started to walk further into the forest and Fiora quickly followed him.

This place is wasted... Commented Diana disapointed... Look at all these black and naked bushes and trees...

Look on the bright side, there's no sunlight... Hecarim smiled at her in a sarcastic way.

There's no moonlight either... Diana answered and walked towards the path the Demacians took.

Why let the strangers ahead general?... Mordekaiser asked Hecarim as soon as Diana left.

Morde, have you any idea what we'll do when we'll comfront Nebulor's ghost?...Hecarim asked with a serious face.

Fight hard I guess... Mordekaiser replied in ignorance.

As always... Answered Hecarim deep in thought and started to run in order to surpass the Demacians and the Lunari that were already a bit far from him and Morde, who was left last. Meanwhile J4 and Fiora were chatting quietly:

You don't have to watch over me like I'm a baby, grand duellist... Whispered Jarvan disturbed.

Say what you want, but I won't have you in a situation like Swain's pyison again... Fiora answered him, while she remembered a day when the two of them along with Garen, Xin Zao, and Quinn went to swim at a beach. It was the first time after the incident with Swain and all were shocked when they saw Jarvan's torso, full of deep scars and burns, it was gross. Jarvan pulled her suddenly out of her memories by grasping her shoulders.

Don't talk about this, not here... He stared right in her eyes looking serious and bitter. Then he turned around and monologued:

Ah... Damn the League... Countless times I've imagined, carving Swain's heart and then force him to eat it... Said in a passionate, quite psychotic way... But now, even if I do that a million times, I will see his disgusting face again in a random area of the Institute... He ended up his sentence. Fiora shook her head in disapointment. She was never a close friend to Jarvan, but she always rememberd him in a good mood, teasing Garen, for his obsession with bushes, her, for her accent (never with bad intentions), but after what hapenned he became such a cold person. Lost in her thoughts she started to fend off of her companion and didn't realise Hecarim was shouting at her until it was too late. Suddenly she lost the ground beneath her feet and fell to a ditch 10 meters below the surface. She screamed as she landed on her feet, because she hit her ankle on impact with the ground. Then she heard Hecarim out of breath asking her:

Are you alright Sword-Lady? After that question, Jarvan, who was on Hecarim's left side, hit him in the face with his lance. The centaur wasn't damaged at all cause of his metallic skull, but back away a bit and barely managed to stand.

Enough of this parade HIDEOUS MONSTER! Was that your plan all along? Drag us to this freak land and KILL US? Jarvan was accusing the shadow of war while trying to find his neck with his hands and strangle him. Hecarim pushed him away saying:

GET YOUR SELF TOGETHER DEMACIAN BUFFOON! And stop chasing rats inside your skull... Jarvan was furious,"how dared this wretched beast giving orders to him" he thought, he didn't care for his title, but he'd never let anyone humiliate him again. He was preparing to perform a cataclysm when Fiora yelled:

WILL ANYBODY HELP ME? Her voice made them stop and look at her way, while Diana and Morde arrived at the scene to see what happened.

Seems like she fell into an old hunter's trap... Diana noticed.

It's way worse than that... The master of metal replied as his face darkenned with concern...


	3. Danger from beneath

-What is it down there?... Jarvan asked worried. He looked deep down and saw his companion who had fortunately landed in a quite soft ground. Luckily there were a lot of rotten branches that helped ease her fall too.

-We natives recognize it from the traces of black blood it leaves behind... Hecarim responded and continued... It is a soragor, a giant serpent that lives beneath the ground.

-It spits his blood in order to melt an area and then hides into the hole that it creates. Covers the hole with dead leaves and waits for its victims.

-I'm afraid that our grand duellist is standing on his back right now. Morde added to the conversation.

-But, shouldn't it have attacked her by now?... Diana asked.

-It may not have noticed her, it is used to larger pray... Hecarim answered her question. By the time her teammates were talking, Fiora didn't hesitate at all. She stabbed her sword and the little knife she had on the wall, and started climbing. "If I waited fyom big J to communicate with the ghost champions I'd be dead alyeady...Damn it! Not even in my thoughts I can pyonounce the lettey ay!"

She was making quite a progress with the sword 'n' knife technique she just invented, when a deep growl, that was coming from under her, echoed through the pit. Fiora looked down on the dark grey ground she fell earlier and saw a huge yellow eye opening and staring at her. It was never a piece of land, it was a living creature!

-Fiora, look up!... Jarvan shouted and she immediately turned her head. He was standing on top of the pit looking down...I'll do a dragon strike, but you have to be quick enough to catch the lance!

She nodded at him and then he casted it. But before she could catch the pointy end of the lance something made her fall... again. It was the soragor! It pushed her with its long crocodile-looking mouth and now its jaws were wide open for her... Fiora screamed, falling to her death, until she saw , upside down as she was, the demacian standard also falling next to her. She turned her head to face down and saw the standand stab the soragor's right eye causing it to turn its head to the right while roaring in pain. Therefore Fiora landed on the side of its mouth. Before she could catch a breath, the creature, rabid as it was, turned its head to the left and smashed her on the wall.

-NOOOOOOOOO!... Jarvan screamed in agony and casted a dragon strike again, in order to catch his standard and take himself down where Fiora and the monster were.

He managed to do that move but unfortunately, the beast, still acting in pain, smashed him on the other wall just like Fiora. The prince though, handled the hit clearly better than his companion (he was the team's tank after all!), who had fell on the ground breathing with some difficulty. Big J landed on his feet and while trying to make his way to his fellow demacian, avoiding the large snakey body of the soragor (it had no arms or legs), he saw Hecarim running really fast on the wall, in a vertical way, going straight down to hit the creature. "Can he actually do that?" Jarvan thought as the shadow of war hit the monster on the mouth breaking a few of its teeth, before sliding in a clumsy way on soragor's body and ending up where his other teammates were. The beast was struggling to find an opponent so it could unleash its rage, but Diana's crescent strike and Mordekaiser's siphon of destruction came from above and damaged it critically. The soragor crushed back and forth on the walls of the pit in a manic way before it dropped dead on the one side of it.

A moment of relief came for our heroes, until the examplar of Demacia broke the silence:

-Fiora? Are you alright?

-I'm...Fine... J4ye... Squished the words out of her mouth. She got hit pretty hard on that wall... I think... I broke my arm though...Luckily ze left one... she revealed, while still down. Hecarim aproached her and cut off one of her three long decorative pieces of cloth that were hanging from her back.

-AWW! Why did you do zat? She asked him in pain.

-To help you miss... Hecarim responded as he tied her arm with that piece of cloth to make a bandage, so it would be hanging from her neck and was attached to her torso... That's better.. the centaur reassured, checking what he had just done.

-We should keep moving... Mordekaiser announced and started to lead the way. Diana took a quick stare at Fiora to assure that she was as ok as possible and followed him.

-I could carry you on my back If you'd like. Hecarim proposed to Fiora.

-Thank you... Was her answer as she sat on his back... Wheye did you leayn to make bandages?

-In the army... Hecarim casually replied without thinking until he finished his sentence. "What army?" he thought and without realising it the words of the spirit of the east altar in twisted treeline came to his mind: "Remember who you once were Hecarim!"

-You did good back there... Jarvan's cold voice interrupted his thoughts. The prince said as he passed them and continued forward.

-You're welcome... The shadow of war whispered sarcastically after he had left... Is he always like that? He asked Fiora.

-There was a time when he wasn't... She responded deep in thought. Meanwhile Mordekaiser was trying to remember the right path that lead to the castle, when he heard Diana's voice behind him:

-You have been here before, haven't you? She asked certain for the answer.

-I have been around in many places of the Shadow Isles. He responded while continued walking and not turning his head.

-Is there anything else you wish to tell us?

-You've been told what you need to know. Morde answered, still walking.

-Shouldn't you warn us about this place? The swordmistress almost died back there! She came to the conclusion.

-It was a mistake letting the demacians lead the way... He admitted... We won't repeat it. The metallic knight stood still for a bit and then started walking again.

-What news from the Pentakill?... She shouted a bit because his pace fastened. Mordekaiser chuckled:

-Huehuehue... Then he turned around... Do NOT tell anyone about this yet, but... He looked a bit on the left, then on the right... We're making a new album!... He finally whispered, just as loud as only Diana could hear.

-That's some good news!... She smiled and then monologued quietly while the rocker of metal was distancing from her: In fact, the only good news I heard today...


	4. The Dark Castle

The gang was continuing its journey through the forest with Mordekaiser leading the way, followed by J4, Diana and Hecarim who was left behind a bit because he was carrying Fiora on his back. Suddenly, Morde stopped and nodded to the others to do so. As soon as they did, he announced:

-They are coming. Ghosts like the ones we fought. Only more of them...

-It's because we're getting closer... Hecarim noticed and all the champions immediatelly looked ahead. Behind the trees that were now covered by a thin fog, the walls of the dark castle were visible, it was only 500 meters away...

-We have to split up... Mordekaiser continued... I have to find a secret path that leads to the catacombs of the castle, Lady Lunari, are you coming with me? She looked hesitant at the injured Fiora, and said both to Hecarim and Jarvan:

-Don't kill each other, just the ghosts... Then she gazed at Morde... Are you sure you can defeat his spirit?

-I may need to improvise, but what choice do we have?... Then a loud, ghostly scream interrupted their conversation...

-Zey will suyound us in minutes... Fiora realised.

-GO! We'll hold them off! QUICK! Jarvan shouted decisively... Morde and Diana looked at each other for a second and then ran through the foggy trees, leaving the Demacians and the centaur alone... Fiora stood on her feet and drew out her sword.

-Can you fight?... J4 asked concerned.

-I'm a wayyioye, big J... The battle to be join... He nodded out of respect and then, they both stared at the fog, while the ghosts' devilish screams were echoing all around, coming closer and closer...

-HHHYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!... A nocturne-like ghost made his appearance coming in the blink of an eye from the fog, in front of Jarvan's face. The prince instictively attacked it with his lance and it growled as the blade immersed in the side part of its chest.

-We can hit these ones!... Jarvan informed his teammates as a group of 10-15 ghosts began to surround them... They were larger than the others they fought, and they had claws in their arms.

-Zey look styong, let's see how much zey can take... Fiora said while slicing one with her sword.

-HRRRRAAAAAAAHHHH!... Hecarim seemed to enjoy the fight, as he hit three of them with a rampage. They responded by grabbing him. The shadow of war then, performed a devastating charge, crashing beneath his feet any ghost that stood in his way, and pushed the ones that grabbed him on a tree. Branches pierced through their bodies, and Hecarim smiled as he saw their cursed souls fade. Our heroes were fighting with everything they' ve got, slashing, cutting, punching, kicking the ghosts, performing all their recognisable moves, but it was like the numbers of the enemy were infinite, and despite their courage, the champions seemed doomed... Meanwhile, Mordekaiser and Diana were running throught the forest, running away from the raging battle.

-Are you certain about this? She asked him in agony while looking back from time to time, just by instict.

-Dead certain, and now that I say dead... He stopped and stared forward. Diana did the same.

-What? Ahf...Uhf... She delivered her question.

-See that grave?... She looked closer and spotted an ancient grave made out of stone which was covered with dead leaves at places. They both approached it. Diana tried to read the inscription, but it was in the local languange. Morde noticed that, and explained it to her:

-"In the name of the unknown cursed soul." It is writen in an ancient version of our mother tongue... He let out a sigh, and then he lifted his mace for a smashing blow. Diana backed away a bit, as he torn the tombstone apart. Inside, the grave was empty, and it was deep enough, so that our friends could not see its bottom.

-Don't worry, there won't be any overgrown lizard waiting for us... Mordekaiser joked, someone could say that he was smiling, if he had a visible face...

-With any luck... She concluded and casted a crescent strike to light up the walls of the pit. It was like five meters tall.

-Easy for me... She said and jumped all the way down. Mordekaiser looked impressed, but he followed quickly, making a loud metal noise as he landed on his feet. Diana casted a pale cascade around her so that they could see. In front of them there was a long corridor with spider webs here and there in its corners, over a century old with some of its tiles on the floor and walls broken in places.

-Ladies first... Mordekaiser gestured in a sarcastic way... You're also the one with the light, anyway... Diana ignored the metal knight's humour and walked silent and careful through the ancient corridor. In the beginning it was a straight line, but slowly, it started to make a long curve and was also going downhill. The two companions were silent all the way until Mordekaiser realised that the corridor was going uphill:

-We're approaching, we should be inside of the castle now... He said.

-Let's hope you're right... Diana responded. After a couple of minutes walking through the uphill of this dark long chamber, Diana noticed a light coming from the blackness of their destination.

-I think we're getting closer... She said and fastened her pace. After ten steps, the two champions arrived at a rather small circle chamber with lighted torches in its walls. In its center there was a tall table made out of marble and on top of it there was a black metal cascet, wrapped in also black chains, with a locket on the center.

-What is that?... Diana asked, confused.

-Apparently, what's left of Nebulor's soul. It seems that he managed to haunt something and then he put that "something" in this cascet, that's how he survived... Diana stepped forward and started to closely examine the cascet with her eyes...

Meanwhile, Fiora, Hecarim and Jarvan were struggling very hard to contain the ghosts. Fiora, even injured, took down three ghosts with a burst of speed, Hecarim was summoning his onslaught of shadows from time to time, to damage serious numbers of enemies and Jarvan was combining his demacian standard with his dragon strike to crush as many spectres as he could. The team was basically in a circle surrounded by the ghosts and they were forming a triangle, in the way they were randomly positioned as they faced their rivals.

-PRINCE, GRAB MY HAND!... Hecarim suggested in the middle of the fight.

-WHY?... J4 yelled clueless.

-JUST DO IT!... The undead centaur replied. Jarvan shook his head in ignorance while putting down one more spectre and gave his left hand to Hecarim, without looking.

-FIORA, DUCK!... The Shadow of war ordered, and as she did, he grabbed Jarvan with his right hand and swang him around. The prince instictively, placed his lance in a way to slice as many ghosts as possible. After completing a round, Hecarim, carefully let go of Jarvan's hand, so he could land easily. J4 missed one step, but found his balance as he landed on one knee. The spectres were now about five meters away from our heroes.

-That'll give us some time to breathe... Hecarim sighed. Fiora was holding her broken arm, when she heard a big rattle vibrating the ground. She turned her head and saw a huge wave of ghosts approaching them from every dirction. They were coming incredibly fast and their screams were so loud that she couldn't even hear her thoughts. Just before they were going to crash them Jarvan grabbed her and Hecarim from their necks and opened his golden Aegis to protect all of them. But, the ghosts couldn't be slowed, and the inevitable could not be prevented...


	5. True Power

Fiora, Jarvan and Hecarim were on their knees, helpless as the ghosts were coming closer and closer… Hecarim was whispering fast a prayer in his mother tongue, Jarvan had his familiar, cold, frowned face and Fiora had a bitter look, realizing that would never see her beloved ones again, family, friends, old teachers… But then the thoughts disappeared as blackness covered the three champions. Their hearts stopped for a moment, when suddenly…:

-HYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! The army of ghosts did a scream that echoed through the entire forest, as they were burning inside out by a strange, unbreakable force that turned into dust in mere seconds.

-Wh… What… happened? ... Fiora asked still in a state of shock.

-Dark magic… Hecarim sighed in relief…Which means that Morde and Diana made it…

-How? Jarvan asked in disbelief.

-It seems that they found Nebulor's soul and destroyed it.

-Let's go see if zeiy all yight… Fiora suggested and stood up while holding her injured arm. As Jarvan's and Hecarim's gazes coincidentally crossed, the prince immediately looked away with hatred and with the help of his lance stood up too, to follow his fellow demacian. Hecarim shook his head in disappointment and began to gallop.

Our heroes walked for 2-3 minutes on the surprisingly silent forest until thy arrived at the front gate of the castle. The gate, which had many black, metal bars placed vertically, was tall and wide, but Hecarim opened it easily with his spear and as the right door wing fell to the ground with a rattle, the team entered the big front yard of the castle. It was an ancient building, long forgotten by everyone, what once was a great palace, now was nothing but a wrecked place with broken walls and floors, all grey in color, the paint vanished as the time went by. In the end of the front yard there was the main entrance, a tall, wooden gate, which it was a matter of chane that it was still standing.

-Here… Hecarim said.

-Let's get on with it… Jarvan responded and started to walk towards the gate. But then, it opened from inside, and Mordekaiser appeared.

-Moyde! Youye alive! You made it! ... Fiora shouted in enthusiasm and relief, but then, she noticed… Wheye iz Diana?

-Alive, don't worry… But, she's… Let us say, sleeping… He answered.

-What happened? ... Jarvan asked serious.

-Where is Nebulor's soul? Hecarim said realizing that he could still sense its dark presence… You didn't destroye it, did you? He concluded.

-Destroy it? My dear general this is not the way to treat old friends… Everyone froze for a moment at the hearing of those worlds… I needed it to use its power to reclaim what once was mine... Mordekaiser finished his sentence.

-Ze… Ze castle? Iz zat what you want? Fiora said confused.

-HUEHUEHUEHUEHUE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!... The master of metal burst in his well-known dark, scary laughter and then continued… You think my ambitions would be that pitiful, demacian lady?

-So what do you want? Jarvan asked furious. Mordekaiser moved his hands slowly to show the ground, and said:

-This land.

-THIS LAND? But that means you are… You were… Jarvan couldn't spit the words out of his mouth…

-I WAS A KING! The RIGHTFUL king of the Shadow Isles! And I was betrayed… But with the help of my former counselor I SHALL RISE AGAIN! By the time Mordekaiser was finishing his little speech Hecarim immediately thought of the female spirit that haunted the East Altar of the Twisted Treeline. Her voice was burning in his head, almost giving him a headache: "Mordekaiser is not to be trusted, Hecarim!"

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! The centaur with a battle roar started his devastating charge to hit the fallen king. A metallic sound echoed as his hoofs stroke Mordekaiser's armor and knocked him to the ground. The armored knight stood on one knee and laughed:

-Huehuehuehuehue… Never stop to defending the freedom of these foul souls…

-Never… Hecarim responded determined and angry. But, as he was preparing for a rampage, the master of metal prevented it, and casted the spell to make him one of his children of the grave.

-MUAHAHAHAHAHA! The falling king's voice was now echoing inside Hecarim's black skull, poisoning his mind, but the shadow of war still managed to perform that rampage on his foe to strike him on the floor once again.

-A true warrior, I was expecting nothing less… For YOU are going to be my army's general, EITHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! And with these words Mordekaiser casted a siphon of destruction at Hecarim to finish him off.

-RRRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWGGGHHHH! The betrayed centaur screamed in pain as he fell down dead.

-HECARIM!... Jarvan yelled as he realized that it was the first time he was routing for the person he always thought an enemy.

-Oh, are we having warm feelings now, coldblooded prince?... Mordekaiser asked him with a devilish tone in his voice.

-What have you done with Diana? ... Fiora shouted at him.

-She is the only one who knows the weaknesses of the Solari, the descendents of the Defenders of the Light, who ended my reign. In time, she'll cooperate…

-And us? Why you wanted us? J4 asked clueless, but still enraged.

-How will the mighty Demacia stand against my army of doom, while it will be moaning for her short-gone, precious, prince? Mordekaiser hammered those last words on Jarvan, but as they both were lifting up their weapons to hit each other, Fiora got in the middle:

-DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM! The grand duelist attacked Mordekaiser and performed a blade waltz on him. Her sword was continuingly piercing through his armor, letting thick black smoke coming through, as she finished, she glared at him, while breathing heavily.

-Zo, what did you do? You swallowed ze wizayd's soul, to consume his poweye? She suggested.

-You can describe it like that, as well. The fallen king responded, and he smashed his mace of spades on Fiora's pretty face and torso. She crashed on the near wall from the impact and fell down, full of blood and it wasn't clear if she was breathing. Jarvan looked at her speechless, and then he gave an angry stare to the master of metal.

-Now, for the main course… Mordekaiser gestured with his right hand and removed Hecarim's soul from his body that was lying dead behind him. The soul looked exactly like Hecarim, except that it was transparent.

-Jarvan looked clueless in this sight. He didn't plan for this. But then he heard Fiora gasping five meters near him, where she had fell. Was she still alive?


	6. Death is so close

-What? ... Mordekaiser realized that he didn't manage to finish her off… KILL THE SPARE! ...He ordered his new pawn and Hecarim immediately summomed his troops and all together started running towards Fiora to perform an onslaught of shadows. Right at that moment, Jarvan, took a desperate look on Fiora, and then jumped on the ghostly centaur:

-DEMACIAAAAAAA! A massive rattle was heard as the earth beneath our heroes' feet shattered by Jarvan's cataclysm. The prine located his "arena" in a way to block Hecarim and Mordekaiser inside, but to leave out Fiora. But also, with that move, all the onslaught of shadows hit J4. He stopped breathing for a moment, and he could swear he saw Demacia burning for a split of a second -side effects of the onslaught- right until he fell backwards and crashed violently on the wall off his crater, something that also happened to Hecarim.

-Huehuehue… The fallen king laughed… Such a brave warrior, yet such a fool… Mordekaiser finished his words by preparing his mace of spades, while the shadow of war was getting on his feet to continue the fight.

-Go back to Hell… Jarvan responded with hatred and threw a demacian standard in the air. The master of metal looked up, stepped aside a bit, and the standard fell right next to him.

-Missed… said sarcastically.

-Don't be so sure… Jarvan replied as he casted a dragon strike. The lances hooked on each other, and J4 pushed Mordekaiser and Hecarim to the wall of the crater, breaking its whole to pieces of dust and stone. The sound of the armors colliding was heard as the three warriors fell on the ground.

-PITIFUL INSECT!... The –would be king yelled and kicked in the face to push him away. Jarvan barely managed to spat a tooth, right before he had to evade Mordekaiser's massive mace. Taking some steps back were enough for the mace to only scratch the prince's armor. J4 managed to block the next hit with his lance. The two knights struggled for a bit, for who will prevail in this conflict, with Mordekaiser managing quite quickly to get Jarvan on his knees while still blocking the mace. Then the master of metal let go of the blocking and swing his mace to strike Jarvan once more. This time, the mace landed on his right hand, disarming him and breaking his shoulder, with J4 screaming in pain.

-Tell me prince, have you ever felt death so close? ... I mean REAL death…?... The fallen king noticed, as he thought that the League's battles were child's play for him.

-You can't kill me Mordekaiser, because I died a long time ago… Jarvan looked at his executioner right in the eyes… There was only truth in these words…

-Excellent response your highness, we will carve it on your headstone… Mordekaiser was lifting his mace for the final blow, when a ghostly, deep and hoarse scream echoed through the castle. Mordekaiser turned around and looked behind. The diaphanous form of Hecarim was cracking like it was made of glass and as the centaur stepped in his back feet unleashing another scary scream, a small explosion of this already shattering form to spiritual dust, revealed a Hecarim that was looking as we know him again.

-Bu… But, what… Why…? How?... Mordekaiser got confused.

-It's no joke when I say that I'm BEYOND death now… Hecarim responded furious, and then started to run towards his old friend for a devastating charge. Mordekaiser, still in shock for his new powers' failure, didn't react as the shadow of war smashed him in the outside wall next to the door, with his front hooves.

-But I don't understand… The fallen king didn't manage to finish his sentence as a rampage stroke his face.

-I'm a high form ghost, Mordekaiser, you can't enslave me so easily… Hecarim stated.

-But I still can crash you… The master of metal replied and casted his spell called: creeping death. Lots of metal pieces started to hit Hecarim, while Mordekaiser was laughing a devilish laugh, until striking and pushing away the centaur with his giant mace.

-You can't win, general… No living man may hinder me… The fallen king gloated.

-But no LIVING man am I… Hecarim said determined looking his foe in the eye…

-ME NEITHER! A strong female voice interrupted those two ghosts fight. They turned around and saw Diana coming out of the main door looking angry as hell. In the blink of an eye she casted a lunar rush at Mordekaiser and her weapon pierced through his metal chest.

-Might of moon, pale and white, turn these cursed souls to light! ... Where Diana's words as she was looking at the sky with her eyes turning shining white. As she finished her spell, Mordekaiser started aching badly in his whole body. He threw down his mace and grabbed Diana's weapon with his hands. He struggled, but managed to remove it and he threw it away along with Diana who as holding it.

-This is your end fallen king… She said her condemning words after landing not very violently on the ground… The moonlight will cleanse Nebulor's soul, and your's with it… She concluded.

-NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Mordekaiser yelled as shafts of light were coming out of his armor. There were coming out more and more and more, until the fallen king faded to black dust in an explosion of light, leaving his armor to fall down empty and damaged… For a moment all that could be heard was our three heroes' breaths as they were looking at their destroyed enemy. Then Jarvan broke the silence:

-FIORAAAAAAAAA!... He pulled himself together, holding his broken shoulder and approached his fellow demacian, as Diana and Hecarim did the same. Fiora still dazzled was gasping from the blood loss. Hecarim examined her a bit.

-She'll be all right. But there's no time to waste… He reassured his companions as they pulled her up to place her once again on his back.

A week later in the institute of war we find our four members chatting in the big library which is full of summoners, champions and of course lots of shelves filled with books and of course tables for the visitors.

-I hope I wasn't zat much tyouble laying on youye back ze whole time… Fiora teased Hecarim.

-Not at all, my Lady, it was an honor to help a noble warrior like you. Hecarim bowed and this time he was meaning it.

-All in all, Hecarim, I admit there's more to you than I thought… Jarvan added to the conversation… And from this point on, if Demacia and the Shadow Isles ever have diplomatic problems, I would be glad if I could discuss them with you as their representative… Jarvan said with a warm look on his face, at last.

-I would be glad too… Hecarim kindly responded.

-And as for you grand duelist… Jarvan smiled friendly at Fiora who was happy, seeing Jarvan in a good mood again after a long time… You have cleansed your family's name, at least to me.

-This is all great, but… Diana said skeptical… Are we sure we destroyed him for good? Well, you know…

-I'm not sure… Hecarim replied… He was a higher form ghost than me and as far as I know, he was bound to a very powerful curse. I don't know, I guess we'll have to wait and see. Diana nodded in agreement and the fellowship started to walk through the long and wide corridor of the institute, to go to the restaurant. After all, the menu for today had for dessert strawberries with cream. It was Fiora's favorite…

THE END

P.S.: In a studio that was underground, Pentakill were preparing to record the songs for their new album, but everybody was grumbling about how Mordekaiser was missing for nearly a month. They had been waiting for him for hours to set foot in the studio, but there was no sign of him. As they decided that they couldn't wait any longer and started packing their equipment, a tall dark, massive figure appeared on the door and drew everyone's attention with his laugh:

-Huehuehue…


End file.
